That's never happened to me, but I usually don't play large series, and I've never come across two games that were as similar as those three appear to be. I'm sure it can (and does) happen all the time. The Devil May Cry is a series that has been selling progressively worse (as stated by Hiroyuki Kobayashi herehttp://www.gamasutra.com/view/featur...th_.php?page=4), as has the Tony Hawk series (of which I own 8 games, and have yet to feel fatigued). I think that might also be a sign of weaker game play. I've been playing different versions of Tetris my whole life, and those truly are nearly exactly the same.

Of course, moving backwards through a series is always a risky endeavor. Many games are rendered obsolete by their younger brothers.